Tagged with indie films

Review: Pet Names, 2018, dir. Carol Brandt

Review: Pet Names, 2018, dir. Carol Brandt

If you don’t listen closely enough, you might miss the quiet explanation for Pet Names‘ title, but that’s okay: You’re almost guaranteed to catch it. Pet Names is a tiny movie about tiny problems, but it’s beautifully made and completely engrossing; I can’t imagine anyone with a taste for this kind of cinema, character-driven, relationship-driven, unfussed and … Continue reading

Review: Weirdos, 2017, dir. Bruce McDonald

Review: Weirdos, 2017, dir. Bruce McDonald

And here I go, festing yet again! This time I’m remotely reviewing a title that played at this year’s Berlinale (also known as the Berlin International Film Festival), Weirdos, directed by Bruce McDonald, who is probably best liked for his 2009 horror film Pontypool. Weirdos isn’t Pontypool by a damn sight, either in terms of content or in … Continue reading

Review: Moonlight, 2016, dir. Barry Jenkins

Review: Moonlight, 2016, dir. Barry Jenkins

I’ve not yet stumbled upon a review of Moonlight that has found a way to associate the film’s message with the central philosophies of the Black Lives Matter movement, mostly because that movement is not germane to the film’s messages and because, I suspect, any white author writing about Barry Jenkins’ extraordinary second feature is smart … Continue reading

Review: Blue Jay, 2016, dir. Alex Lehmann

Review: Blue Jay, 2016, dir. Alex Lehmann

Proof that Sarah Paulson is the best: She coaxes a great performance out of Mark Duplass in Blue Jay, this wonderful, itty bitty widdle indie moobie that you can rent or buy in iTunes. I think you should! I obviously liked it, judging by the review I wrote for Paste Magazine, and you know that that’s … Continue reading

Review: Goat, 2016, dir. Andrew Neel

Review: Goat, 2016, dir. Andrew Neel

I can picture a cut of Goat that leaves out the extraneous stuff, the stuff that has net zero impact on the plot, and I can also picture that cut of Goat being much, much better than the cut we got. Oh well. The cut we got is still pretty solid, excess material aside. Goat, by the way, … Continue reading

Interview: Ira Sachs, “Little Men”

Interview: Ira Sachs, “Little Men”

I didn’t put Ira Sachs’ Little Men on my top ten of the year thus far list, but if I’d revisited it before seeing Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice, it might have ended up at least in the ten slot, and possibly higher. It’s one of the films in 2016 that comes as close to perfect as possible, … Continue reading